Sensor

Abstract

To provide a drainage structure which does not damage appearance of a sensor cover.SOLUTION: A sensor comprises a sensing section which senses a state change in the room, and a sensor cover which includes a substrate on which the sensing section is mounted and in which the sensing section and the substrate are stored. In the sensor, the sensor cover includes a bottom part and an opening part which is provided in a center of the bottom part and opposed to the sensing section. On an inner surface of the bottom part, there are provided a drain path which guides water on the inner surface to the opening part and a surrounding wall rib which surrounds the outside of the substrate. In the surrounding wall rib, there is provided a notch which communicates the inner surface outside the surrounding wall rib to the inner surface inside the surrounding wall rib. The drain path guides water which flows through the notch to the opening part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a detector for disaster prevention. [Background technology]

[0002] Disaster prevention detectors for fires and other emergencies include a sensor unit that detects smoke, heat, or harmful gases such as CO, either singly or in combination, as well as a sensor body that contains an electronic circuit for transmitting signals detected by the sensor unit to a receiver, and a sensor cover that houses the sensor unit and sensor body.

[0003] The sensor cover is equipped with a cover member having an opening in the center for exposing the sensing unit. Because the inner surface of this cover member faces the ceiling, water such as condensation water that forms on the ceiling can drip and adhere to the inner surface of the cover member. For this reason, the cover member is provided with a drainage structure that drains water that has adhered to the inner surface without it coming into contact with the sensing unit or the sensor body (see Patent Document 1 below). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-8084 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] According to the aforementioned conventional technology, the drainage structure of the sensor cover has a drain groove on the inner surface of the cover member to drain water, and a drain hole at the bottom of the drain groove to discharge water that has flowed into the drain groove. According to this conventional technology, the drain hole penetrates the underside of the cover member, making it visible from the outside and detracting from the appearance. Furthermore, considering visibility, it becomes necessary to align the drain holes visible from the outside for multiple sensors in the same room, which creates a problem of poor workability.

[0006] In contrast, if the water adhering to the inner surface of the cover member is naturally guided to the opening of the cover member by using the slope of the inner surface without providing the drain grooves or drain holes mentioned above, the drainage path for the water cannot be identified, and there is a risk that the drainage path will interfere with the contents inside, such as the sensor body, and that electronic components, etc., will become wet and cause malfunctions.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a drainage structure that does not impair the appearance of the sensor cover. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve such problems, the sensor of the present invention has the following configuration. A sensor comprising a sensing unit that senses changes in conditions inside a room, a substrate on which the sensing unit is mounted, and a sensor cover in which the sensing unit and the substrate are housed, wherein the sensor cover has a bottom and an opening in the center of the bottom facing the sensing unit, the inner surface of the bottom is provided with a drainage path that directs water on the inner surface to the opening, and a surrounding wall rib that surrounds the outside of the substrate, the surrounding wall rib is provided with a notch that connects the inner surface on the outer side of the surrounding wall rib to the inner surface on the inner side of the surrounding wall rib, and the drainage path directs water flowing through the notch to the opening. A detector comprising a sensor unit that senses changes in conditions inside a room and a sensor cover, wherein the sensor cover has an opening facing the sensor unit located in the center of the bottom, the opening has a plurality of protective ribs around it to protect the sensor unit, the sensor unit is located in the center, and a drainage path is provided on the inner surface of the bottom, facing the protective ribs, to guide water on the inner surface to the opening. A sensor comprising a sensor unit that senses changes in conditions inside a room, a substrate on which the sensor unit is mounted, and a light-emitting member, as well as a sensor cover that houses the sensor unit, the substrate, and the light-emitting member, wherein the sensor cover has a bottom and an opening provided in the center of the bottom facing the sensor unit, the light-emitting member guides light emitted by a light-emitting element mounted on the substrate and emits the light within the opening, the sensor unit passes through a central hole, and a drainage path is provided on the inner surface of the bottom, which guides water on the inner surface to the opening via a guide wall, and the guide wall supports the light-emitting member. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] A sensor of the present invention having these characteristics has a drainage path on the inner surface of the bottom of the sensor cover that directs water on the inner surface to the opening in the center of the bottom, eliminating the need for drainage holes that are visible from the outside. Also, the opening in the center of the bottom of the sensor cover allows airflow to flow into the sensing unit housed inside the sensor cover, eliminating the need to provide a new opening for drainage.

[0010] This allows for improved workability without compromising the appearance of the sensor cover and eliminating the need to consider directionality during installation. Furthermore, by providing a specific drainage path on the inner surface of the bottom of the sensor cover without providing a new drainage opening, the drainage path can be set so as not to interfere with the contents of the sensor cover, preventing problems with electronic components and the like getting wet. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is an external perspective view of a sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2) of the sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a sensor cover of the sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals in different drawings indicate parts with the same function, and duplicate explanations in each drawing will be omitted as appropriate. Furthermore, terms indicating position, direction, etc., such as "front," "rear," "left," and "right," used to describe the sensor of this invention, are used according to the position and direction of the sensor when installed.

[0013] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, a sensor 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a sensing unit 2, a substrate 3, and a sensor main body 4, as well as a sensor cover 10 in which the sensing unit 2, substrate 3, and sensor main body 4 are housed.

[0014] The sensing unit 2 is a sensor that detects changes in the state of the room, and in the example shown in the figure is a heat-sensitive element using a rod-shaped thermistor, but is not limited to this and may be a photoelectric smoke sensor that detects smoke, a gas sensor that detects harmful gases such as CO, or a combined sensor that detects a combination of these. The sensing unit 2 is mounted on a substrate 3 that is equipped with an electronic circuit that processes the signal output of the sensing unit 2. By mounting the sensing unit 2 on the substrate 3, the aforementioned electronic circuit and the sensing unit 2 are electrically connected.

[0015] The substrate 3 on which the sensing unit 2 is mounted is disposed on the front surface of the sensor main body 4. The sensor main body 4 is provided with a frame 41 having an attachment portion 40 for attachment to a sensor base (not shown), which is attached to a mounting location such as a ceiling. A main body 42 to which the substrate 3 is connected is integrally molded with the frame 41. One end of a connector 43 is connected to the attachment portion 40, and the other end of the connector 43 is connected by a screw 5 to a connection portion provided on the mounting location such as a ceiling. The main body 42 is provided with a communication circuit that transmits a signal processed by the electronic circuit of the substrate 3, and the connector 43 mechanically attaches the sensor main body 4 to a mounting location such as a ceiling, and connects the communication circuit of the main body 42 to communication wiring provided on the ceiling, etc.

[0016] The sensor cover 10 is detachably attached to the sensor main body 4 which is attached to a ceiling or the like. The sensor cover 10 comprises a bottom 10A which covers the sensor main body 4, an outer peripheral wall 10B provided on the outer edge of the bottom 10A, and an opening 10C provided in the center of the bottom 10A. An attachment rib 11 having an attachment hole 11A protrudes from the bottom 10A, and the sensor cover 10 is detachably attached to the sensor main body 4 by engaging an engagement protrusion 41A provided on the frame 41 of the sensor main body 4 with the attachment hole 11A of the attachment rib 11.

[0017] Various ribs are provided on the inner surface of the bottom 10A of the sensor cover 10. In the illustrated example, an outer rib 12 is provided along the inside of the outer peripheral wall 10B, and a surrounding wall rib 13 that surrounds the periphery of the substrate 3 is provided at the middle position of the bottom 10A. In addition, inner ribs 14 and 15 are provided around the periphery of the opening 10C in the bottom 10A.

[0018] Additionally, a protective rib 16 is provided on the outer surface of the bottom 10A of the sensor cover 10 around the opening 10C, protruding outward from the bottom 10A to protect the sensing unit 2. The protective rib 16 is provided around the opening 10C facing the sensing unit 2, and has the function of surrounding the sensing unit 2 located at the center of the opening 10C to protect it from mechanical shocks and the like.

[0019] In addition, the opening 10C provided in the center of the bottom 10A of the sensor cover 10 is an airflow inlet provided to enable the sensor unit 2 (such as a thermistor) housed inside the sensor cover 10 to detect airflow in the room and hot airflow in the event of a fire, and is an essential part for the function of the sensor cover 10.

[0020] In addition to the aforementioned sensor main body 4, etc., the sensor cover 10 also contains a light-emitting member 6. The light-emitting member 6 guides light emitted by the light-emitting element 7 mounted on the substrate 3 and causes the light to be emitted within the opening 10C; when the sensor 1 is activated, the light-emitting element 7 emits light and light is emitted from the light-emitting member 6, thereby making the operating state of the sensor 1 known to the outside. The light-emitting member 6 has a light-emitting portion 6A disposed within the opening 10C, and a support portion 6B extending outward from the light-emitting portion 6A that is supported by the inner ribs 14, 15 and the notches in the surrounding wall rib 13 described above.

[0021] In such a sensor 1, the sensor cover 10 is provided with a drainage path that guides water on the inner surface of the bottom 10A to the opening 10C. This drainage path is partitioned on the inner surface of the bottom 10A, as shown in Fig. 4. The inner surface of the bottom 10A is also sloped so that water on the inner surface flows through the partitioned drainage path, and the drainage path is further sloped so that water that enters the drainage path flows toward the opening 10C.

[0022] An example of a specific drainage path will be described with reference to Figure 4. The inner surface of the bottom 10A of the sensor cover 10 is provided with a surrounding wall rib 13 in a substantially circumferential manner so as to surround the opening 10C, and is covered with the sensor main body 4 so that the main body 42 having the substrate 3 is located inside the surrounding wall rib 13. For this reason, water dripping from the ceiling or the like adheres to an area S outside the surrounding wall rib 13 on the inner surface of the bottom 10A. This area S has an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the center of the bottom 10A (the center of the opening 10C) (see Figure 3). As a result, water adhering to area S first moves outside the surrounding wall rib 13, as indicated by the thick arrow in Figure 4, and then moves to an even lower position within area S.

[0023] The surrounding wall rib 13 has cutouts 13A that connect the inner surface (region S) of the bottom 10A outside the surrounding wall rib 13 to the inner surface of the bottom 10A inside the surrounding wall rib 13. In the example shown, two cutouts 13A are provided around the opening 10C with the drainage paths facing each other, but the number can be changed as appropriate. For example, if four cutouts 13A are provided in a cross shape around the opening 10C, the variation in the drainage paths can be reduced compared to when only two cutouts are provided.

[0024] The slope in region S is formed so that the entrance of cutout 13A is at the lowest position within region S. As a result, water adhering to region S moves to cutout 13A of surrounding wall rib 13. Then, the slope that decreases from cutout 13A toward opening 10C guides the water that passes through cutout 13A to opening 10C. The thick arrows in the figure indicate the drainage path of the water flow described above.

[0025] In the illustrated example, the drainage path is defined by a pair of guide walls 17 extending from cutout 13A to opening 10C. By defining the drainage path with guide walls 17 in this manner, unnecessary spreading of water on the inner surface of bottom 10A can be suppressed, and the drainage path can be prevented from interfering with the contents.

[0026] In the illustrated example, the drainage path is provided downstream of opening 10C so as to face protective rib 16. This allows water that reaches opening 10C through the drainage path to flow down protective rib 16 and be guided to a position lower than the tip of sensing unit 2, thereby preventing sensing unit 2 from getting wet due to the flow of water.

[0027] In the illustrated example, guide wall 17 forming the drainage path also serves as a support frame for the light emitting member 6 described above that is placed in opening 10C. That is, support portion 6B of light emitting member 6 is supported in a state of being fitted into guide wall 17. This makes it possible to form a partitioned drainage path by utilizing the support structure of light emitting member 6, and therefore makes it possible to form a specified drainage path by efficiently utilizing the space within bottom portion 10A.

[0028] With this type of sensor 1, a partitioned drainage path is formed on the inner surface of the bottom 10A of the sensor cover 10, and this drainage path leads to the opening 10C in the bottom 10A. Opening 10C, which is the airflow inlet in the sensor cover 10, is also used for drainage, so there is no need to open a separate opening or hole as a drain hole in part of the sensor cover 10. For this reason, it is possible to form a drainage structure that is completely invisible from the outside, as shown in Figure 2. This not only improves the appearance, but also improves workability because there is no need to consider directionality during construction.

[0029] In addition, the drainage path defined on the inner surface of the bottom 10A of the sensor cover 10 can be formed as a path isolated from the contents of the sensor cover 10, thereby avoiding the problem of the drainage path interfering with the contents of the sensor cover 10 and causing electronic components, etc. to become wet.

[0030] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations are not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention also includes design changes within the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments can be combined by utilizing each other's technologies as long as there are no particular contradictions or problems in their purposes, configurations, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1: Sensor, 2: Sensor part, 3: Board, 4: Sensor body, 5: Screw, 6: Light emitting member, 6A: Light emitting portion, 6B: Support portion, 7: Light emitting element, 10: Sensor cover, 10A: Bottom, 10B: Outer wall, 10C: Opening, 11: Mounting rib, 11A: Mounting hole, 12: Outer rib, 13: Surrounding wall rib, 13A: Notch, 14, 15: Inner rib, 16: Protective rib, 17: Guide wall, 40: Mounting portion, 41: Frame body, 41A: Engagement protrusion, 42: Main body, 43: Connector, S: Area

Claims

1. A sensor comprising a sensor unit that senses a change in a state of a room, a substrate on which the sensor unit is mounted, and a sensor cover in which the sensor unit and the substrate are housed, the sensor cover has a bottom and an opening provided at the center of the bottom and facing the sensor; a drainage path that guides water on the inner surface to the opening and a surrounding wall rib that surrounds the outside of the base are provided on the inner surface of the bottom portion; The surrounding wall rib is provided with a notch portion that connects the inner surface of the outer side of the surrounding wall rib to the inner surface of the inner side of the surrounding wall rib, The drainage path directs water flowing through the cutout to the opening.

2. A detector having a sensor unit that senses a change in a state inside a room and a detector cover, the sensor cover has an opening provided at the center of the bottom thereof facing the sensor unit, The opening has a plurality of protective ribs around it to protect the sensing portion, and the sensing portion is located at the center of the opening. A sensor characterized in that a drainage path for guiding water on the inner surface of the bottom to the opening is provided on the inner surface of the bottom so as to face the protective rib.

3. A sensor comprising a sensor unit that senses a change in a state of a room, a substrate on which the sensor unit is mounted, and a light emitting member, and a sensor cover that houses the sensor unit, the substrate, and the light emitting member, the sensor cover has a bottom and an opening provided at the center of the bottom and facing the sensor; The light emitting member guides light emitted by a light emitting element mounted on the substrate and emits the light within the opening, and the sensing portion passes through a central hole, a drainage path is provided on the inner surface of the bottom portion, which guides water on the inner surface to the opening by a guide wall; The sensor is characterized in that the guide wall supports the light emitting member.

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